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CROSSING-OVER (JOSH 3-4)
BEFORE WE GET INTO THE TEXT TODAY,
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES FOR A MOMENT:
Yahusha Did NOT Say…
"Let All Those Who Have Eyes To See ... Read!”
The Hebrew Scriptures (the earlier stuff that they call the “Old Testament”) was never actually meant to be read out loud. WHAAAAAATT ??? . . . . That’s right BIATCHES. All of the great Scripture stories we’ve loved ever since we were young children were actually handed down via word of mouth and they were crafted in a way more suited to storytelling around the campfire than to be read out loud like a liturgy. SCRIPTURE WAS MEANT TO BE SPOKEN OUT LOUD, NOT READ because a ton of nuance and intended meaning is lost if we don’t grasp this point.
This idea might be difficult for us to accept because we’re such a text-driven society that prioritises the written word over the spoken. But in ancient times, written records on stone tablets etc were only kept as sacred archives. They served as anchors for stories that were orally transmitted from generation to generation. It’s pretty much impossible for us modern folks today with all of our electronic texting devices to even conceive of a culture where the spoken word was the primary form of communication isn’t it?
In fact, you may be surprised to know that the use of text only occurred in ancient civilisations who possessed advanced economies such as the Hittites, the Assyrians and the Egyptians and even then written words were only used for accounting records and contracts, NOT TO INSTRUCT BELIEVERS OF BEHAVIOUR OR TO TEACH HISTORICAL EVENTS. This held true even among those cultures that possessed the highest literacy rates.
The Hebrews of Yahusha’s day could read Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew. Every Hebrew child had to undergo 6 years of formal schooling where they were rigorously trained in how to read and write, YET THEY STILL PREFERRED THE SPOKEN WORD OVER THE WRITTEN WORD. Why? Because that method was at the heart of their culture not to mention it was also the normal way for the world at that time.
Plus, keep in mind Yahusha never said “Let all those who have eyes, read”. Nope, He said “Let all those who have ears, listen“. This was a statement reflecting a culture based on the spoken word.
Again, this idea that different societies had different preferred ways to communicate shouldn’t surprise us because in just the last 10 years alone, the way we communicate in our daily lives has dramatically transformed. We now live in a visual/video world. In fact many of us haven’t picked up a paper book in ages, and most read all their books on Kindle and tablets now. Parents battle to get their children to read books in today’s audio/visual culture for everyone (young or old) prefer to watch and listen rather than to read and comprehend (hence these audio/visual BRS). However we’re not here to promote one communication method as superior to another, but just to make sure you understand that the Scriptures (especially the earlier stuff) emerged from an oral culture.
THE ANCIENTS BELIEVED THE SPOKEN WORD POSSESSED GREAT POWER, NOT THE WRITTEN WORD ... THE SPOKEN WORD! Recall in Genesis that Yahusha spoke His Creation into existence. He didn’t bring the universe into existence by sending a text message. We also read that Yahusha is the Living Word and this is why communicating with Him and about Him with your mouth is soooooo powerful.
You know how in the book of Leviticus, there is a ton of what seems to be a lot of redundant details and repetition where many verses will say the same thing over and over again in different ways? That’s because it was meant to be read out loud and was written in a way that would make the teachings both exciting and memorable while driving home important divine principles about Yahusha’s Set-Apartness.
OUR SCRIPTURES HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT REWRITTEN FOR THE MODERN STUDENT TO READ SILENTLY, COVER TO COVER (thus sometimes the point or purpose of a historical account, the choosing of which events to recount and transmit to the future generations in order that an important principle be brought to light) is lost.
Imagine families chilling around a blazing campfire after having a satisfying meal sitting spellbound as they listened with full attention to a Hebrew elder as he recalls what happened on that terrifying night when Yahusha struck down all the firstborn in Egypt. Or imagine just how captivated his audience would be as he retold how Yahusha worked through Moses and split an entire ocean into two halves. It was through this form of exciting storytelling that Scripture was passed down through the generations.
And this account of Joshua is no different, so we’re going to read Joshua 3 & 4 (plus the first bit of 5) OUT LOUD, because it’s one complete story and it’s best to hear it, as it would have been spoken, because then we’ll get a more complete picture and the correct context.
CROSSING OVER (JOSH 3-4)
Joshua got up early the next morning and all the Yisharalites packed up and left Acacia, camping at the Jordan River that night. IN ANCIENT HEBREW SOCIETY TO GET UP EARLY IN THE MORNING TO START A TASK WAS TO DISPLAY GREAT PASSION AND OBEDIENCE TO YAHUSHA. A PERSON WHO IS SAID TO RISE UP EARLY IN THE MORNING WANTS TO GET THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE START ON CARRYING OUT WHATEVER ASSIGNMENT OR WORK YAHUSHA IS DOING THROUGH THEM. IT IS A SORT OF MERIT BADGE, A CHARACTER TRAIT, AND A SIGN OF BEING TRUSTWORTHY THAT IS BEING ASCRIBED TO JOSHUA HERE.
And AFTER THREE DAYS their leaders went through the camp, shouting,“When you see some of the priests carrying the Ark of the Blood-Covenant Witness, you’ll know it’s time to cross the Jordan River to the other side. You’ve never been there before, and you won’t know the way, unless you follow the Ark. But don’t get too close to it! Stay about a kilometre back.” THIS DISTANCING WAS ALL ABOUT YAHUSHA’S SET-APARTNESS BECAUSE IF A HUMAN BEING COMES TOO CLOSE TO THE INTENSITY OF YAHUSHA’S PRESENCE (LIKE DIVINE RADIATION), THAT PERSON WILL BE DESTROYED. IT CANNOT BE ANY OTHER WAY FOR THE PURITY AND SET-APARTNESS OF YAHUSHA IS THE LINCHPIN THAT HOLDS ALL OF CREATION TOGETHER.
SO WE CAN SEE THAT WAY BEFORE COVID, THE YISHARALITES WERE PRACTICING THEIR VERY OWN FORM OF “SOCIAL DISTANCING”.
INCIDENTALLY, IT IS THIS COMMAND THAT THE YISHARALITES WERE TO MAINTAIN A 2000 CUBIT DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM AND THE ARK THAT GAVE BIRTH TO THE TRADITION THAT ONE SHOULD NOT WALK (OR TRAVEL) FARTHER THAN 2000 CUBITS (OR ABOUT HALF A MILE/1km) ON THE SHABATH. HOWEVER THAT IS MERELY RELIGIOUS TRADITION AND YAHUSHA SAYS TO REST WITHIN YOUR PLACE (UNLESS THERE’S AN EMERGENCY OF COURSE).
OVER AND OVER YAHUSHA SAYS TO HIS PEOPLE, “YOU MUST BE SET-APART FOR I, YAHUAH YOUR ALAHIM, AM SET-APART”. IF WE DON’T PAY ANY ATTENTION TO THIS COMMAND IT IS VERY HARMFUL TO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YAHUSHA. WHILE ON A SPIRITUAL, LEGAL OWNERSHIP LEVEL, WE HAVE INDEED BEEN SET-APART BY OUR BELIEF IN YAHUSHA, HOWEVER ON A DEEPER LEVEL, ANOTHER KIND OF SET-APARTNESS IS ALSO REQUIRED, A PHYSICAL SORT OF `OVERCOMING THE EVIL IN OUR BEHAVIOUR'. THIS KIND OF SET-APARTNESS IS REFLECTED BY OBEDIENCE TO YAHUSHA’S INSTRUCTIONS, AND A MIMICKING OF HIS ATTRIBUTES IN THE LIFE OF HIS FOLLOWERS. THE SPIRITUAL SET-APARTNESS GIVEN BY YAHUSHA’S FAVOUR UPON OUR IMMERSION, LEADS AND EMPOWERS THE PHYSICAL OVERCOMING IF THE INDIVIDUAL TRULY LOVES YAHUSHA. THIS PRINCIPLE HAS NEVER CHANGED AND IS SPOKEN OF OVER AND OVER AS A CENTRAL THEME IN THE LATTER TEXTS ALSO.
“And after three days their leaders went through the camp” . . . ?
SO HOW MANY DAYS WERE THERE?
First in Joshua 1:11 he instructs the people to get ready to move out, because IN 3 DAYS they will cross over the Jordan, but now here in Joshua 3 it says that AFTER 3 DAYS the officers went through the camp giving instructions about how the people to were to follow the Ark of the Blood-Covenant Witness across the Jordan.
And don’t forget that during all this time the 2 spies were also sent out to Jericho and had their dealings with Rahab, then they returned and gave their report to Joshua.
So the issue is: was there ONE 3-DAY PERIOD that began in chapter 1 and ended with the crossing of the Jordan at the end of chapter 3, or were there TWO 3-DAY PERIODS (one at Acacia and another camping here at the Jordan)?
It’s pretty obvious that there were not only two separate 3-day periods, but also another couple of days thrown in as well. Who cares and why should it matter? Let’s have a look . . .
We have the first 3-day period occurring at Acacia where the people have been camped for quite some time (a couple of months or more), and so Joshua gives the order for the people to prepare to move out in 3 days. During this same time the 2 spies go to Jericho. They hid themselves for 3 days, returning either late at night on the 3rd day or early on the 4th to Joshua. Their return gave Joshua the information he needed and so that same morning (on the 4th day), he led Yisharal to their staging ground at the eastern edge of the Jordan River.
At the end of 3 more days the officers went through the camp telling people to get up and go through the River and to follow certain instructions about the Ark of the Blood-Covenant Witness.
Chapter 3 says that THE NEXT DAY the Tribes got into battle formation and began to cross over the Jordan. 4 + 3 + 1 = 8.
WHAT WE HAVE IS AN 8-DAY PERIOD FROM THE TIME JOSHUA GIVES THE ORDER TO MOVE ACROSS THE JORDAN UNTIL IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
Numbers have great meaning in the Scripture; they act like a guide (perhaps even a reality check) to help us understand the spiritual-context (the `on earth as it is in shamayim' shadow senario). What does the number 8 represent in Set-Apart Scripture? ATONEMENT AND REDEMPTION.
Remember how we saw in episode 1 that just as “INHERITANCE” was the byword for the REDEMPTIVE PROCESS of Yisharal for hundreds of years until this moment, and now the attribute of “REST” (nuach) would become the new byword and goal for REDEMPTION? Well crossing the Jordan into their inheritance was a milestone of Yisharal’s redemption. Crossing the Jordan moved Yisharal into their inheritance and 8 is the Scriptural number for redemption (remember circumcision was done on the 8th day too, and 8 is always the renewing of the 7-day/year shemitah cycle etc ... new beginnings). Isn’t that fascinating?
THE ARK WOULD LEAD THE WAY, NOT THE FIRE/CLOUD !!!
THE ARK WOULD LEAD THE WAY AND THE PEOPLE WERE TO KEEP THEIR EYES ON THE ARK BUT ALSO TO MAINTAIN A DISTANCE OF 2000 CUBITS (ALMOST A KM) FROM IT. THE MOVEMENT OF THE ARK WOULD BE YISHARAL’S SIGNAL TO MOVE. THIS WAS A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE FOR THE HEBREW PEOPLE BECAUSE UP UNTIL THIS POINT IN TIME, THE FIRE-CLOUD WAS THEIR SIGNAL TO MOVE. WHEN IT WAS TIME TO MOVE, THE WILDERNESS TABERNACLE WAS TAKEN DOWN AND THE TRIBES WOULD ALL LINE UP IN A PRE-ASSIGNED ORDER. JUDAH, ISSACHAR AND ZEBULUN LED THE WAY IN FOLLOWING THE FIRE-CLOUD. REUBEN, SIMEON AND GAD CAME NEXT. THE LEVITES, WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR CARRYING THE TABERNACLE AND ITS FURNISHINGS, WERE POSITIONED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FORMATION (ALLOWING THEM TO BE PROTECTED BY THE SURROUNDING TRIBES). FINALLY, THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIBES WERE SITUATED AT THE VERY BACK IN THE REAR OF THE COLUMN.
IT CANNOT BE EMPHASISED ENOUGH JUST HOW BIG OF A CHANGE HAD JUST OCCURRED. AS FAR AS EVERY YISHARALITE WAS CONCERNED, THE FIRE-CLOUD WAS THEIR ONLY RELIABLE SOURCE OF DIVINE DIRECTION. SEEING AND THEN FOLLOWING AFTER THE FIRE-CLOUD DAY-BY-DAY GAVE THEM HOPE AND PEACE OF MIND.
THEREFORE, WHEN JOSHUA SAID “NO MORE FIRE-CLOUD”, IT MUST HAVE BEEN QUITE A SHOCK TO A LOT OF FOLKS AND THAT’S WHY JOSHUA’S OFFICERS HAD TO CAREFULLY GO THROUGH THE CAMP, STOP AT EACH TENT AND CAREFULLY EXPLAIN TO THE PEOPLE THAT A NEW ERA HAD JUST BEGUN AND AS A RESULT THINGS WERE ABOUT TO CHANGE. MINUS NO FIRE-CLOUD TO DEPEND ON, NO DOUBT THE YISHARALITES WOULD HAVE BEEN AFRAID TO MOVE FORWARD.
And Joshua told the people, “Set yourselves apart and make yourselves acceptable, because tomorrow Yahuah is going to do great wonders among us.”
Then Joshua turned to the priests and said, “Take the Ark of the Blood-Covenant Witness and cross-over the Jordan River ahead of us.” So the priests picked up the Ark by its carrying poles and went on ahead. Then Yahusha told Joshua, “Starting today I will show the people that you are their leader, and they will know that I'm with you just as I was with Moses. Now, tell the priests who are carrying the Ark to go a little way into the river and then stop and stand there.”
THE PEOPLE WERE TO FIRST IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN WATER AND THEN THEY ARE TO IMMERSE THEIR CLOTHING IN WATER, AND IT HAS TO BE “LIVING WATER” MEANING A RUNNING SPRING OR RIVER CONNECTED TO A LARGER BODY OF WATER. THAT’S WHY THE PEOPLE HAD TO MOVE FROM ACACIA WHERE THERE WASN’T A LOT OF WATER, TO THE JORDAN RIVER WHICH WAS LARGE ENOUGH FOR THE POPULATION OF ABOUT 3 MILLION PEOPLE.
Then Joshua spoke to the people: “Come here and listen to what Yahuah your Alahim said He will do after you cross-over! The Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites control the land on the other side of the river. But our living Alahim will be with you and will force them out of the land when you attack. And now, Yahuah is going to prove that He’s in our midst and powerful enough to force them out. Just watch the Ark that belongs to Yahuah, the ruler of the whole earth. As soon as the priests carrying the Ark step into the Jordan, the water will be CUT OFF, stop flowing and pile up as if someone had built a dam across the river. Yahuah has also said that each of the twelve tribes should choose one man to represent it".
So Yisharal packed up and left camp and the priests carrying the Ark walked in front until they came to the Jordan River. The water in the river had risen over its banks, as it often does in springtime, but as soon as the feet of the priests touched the water, the river stopped flowing, and the water started piling up at the town of Adam near Zarethan. No water flowed toward the Dead Sea, and the priests stood in the middle of the dry riverbed near Jericho while everyone else crossed-over.
JUST AS YAHUSHA PARTED THE RED SEA FOR MOSES, HE WAS NOW GOING TO PART THE JORDAN RIVER FOR JOSHUA SO THAT ALL YISHARAL WOULD KNOW THAT HIS ANOINTING AND AUTHORITY NOW RESTED ON JOSHUA AS IT DID ON MOSES. OBVIOUSLY THE SPECIFIC MECHANICS OF HOW THIS WAS GOING TO BE DONE WOULD DIFFER BECAUSE THE NATURE OF THESE TWO BODIES OF WATER WERE DIFFERENT. THE RED SEA WAS AN OCEAN, IT DIDN’T HAVE A SOURCE SO TO SPEAK, IT WAS JUST A HUGE BODY OF WATER. HOWEVER, THE JORDAN, BEING A RIVER DID HAVE A SOURCE THAT DESCENDED FROM THE NORTH DOWNWARDS TOWARDS THE DEAD SEA. SO INSTEAD OF YAHUSHA LITERALLY SPLITTING THE JORDAN LIKE HE DID THE RED SEA IN HALF, WHAT HE DID WITH THE JORDAN RIVER WAS TO DAM UP THE FLOW OF WATER FOR A TIME, AND THIS BEGAN ONCE THE PRIESTS CARRIED THE ARK TO THE WATER’S EDGE AND THEIR FEET TOUCHED THE WATER.
The term and action of “crossing-over” played such a major role in Yisharal’s deliverance history. Abraham crossed over the Euphrates River at Yahusha’s instruction to go into a new land that He would show him. In fact the term `CROSSING-OVER' was memorialised into the very identity of the Hebrews because the word Hebrew (in Hebrew) means, “one who crossed-over” which would become the requirement for all who wished to join the people of Yahusha. There is perhaps no greater story of crossing-over than Moses leading the Yisharalites through the Red Sea; this act officially took them out of Egypt and into the Wilderness. And this crossing-over the Jordan officially takes Yisharal out of the Wilderness and into the Promised Land.
And notice that in the Scripture, CROSSING-OVER ALWAYS INVOLVES PASSING THROUGH WATER. We see this Yahusha-pattern of utilising water as a symbol of crossing-over in the instruction of IMMERSION. Even the notion of being `begotten from above’ (reborn) brings us the image of passing through the water of the womb to get to the other side.
We had Noah being preserved in an Ark of Covenant Deliverance while water cleansed the world of wickedness and Noah and his family `CROSSED-OVER' that water and emerged on dry ground.
YAHUSHA CALLS HIMSELF THE LIVING WATER, AND THAT LIVING WATER IS THE ONLY AVAILABLE PATH TO MANKIND IN ORDER TO CROSS OVER FROM OUR FALLEN, EVIL STATE INTO A RENEWED LIFE OF REST AND HOPE AND SERVICE TO YAHUSHA.
Since it was the Books of Moses that established these `Yahusha-Patterns of Behaviour’ that will exist forever, and the patterns will be the boiler-plate from which the entire Scripture will unfold and emerge, JOSHUA BECOMES THE FIRST BOOK WHERE WE EXCITEDLY WATCH THESE PATTERNS BEGIN TO BE ACTED OUT AND BEHAVED INSIDE OF THE PROMISED LAND.
“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Yahusha stood and shouted ‘If anyone is thirsty, come to Me and drink because anyone who believes in Me, (as the Scripture said), ‘From their innermost being will gush rivers of living water.’” JOHN 7 BRS
THE JORDAN RIVER
The Jordan River was either a trickle or a torrent depending on the time of the year. Sometimes it’s not very deep, and it doesn’t flow very fast during most months of the year. In fact a child could wade across it in many spots most of the time. But, in early spring when the snows of Mt. Hermon are melting, the river widens, overflows its banks and becomes dangerous and difficult to cross. This was the condition of the Jordan when Yisharal was instructed to cross it. We KNOW this was the time of year because the text explains that it is during harvest season that this happened, and chapter 4 tells us that they crossed over the Jordan on the 10th day of the 1st month of the New Year. The 1st month corresponds to late March or early April by the modern calendar. At this time of year, even in modern times, the water can be 12-15 feet deep (4-5m) and it moves very rapidly. So just as the Yisharalites took one look at the Red Sea and knew they were going nowhere, so Joshua’s Yisharalites took one look at the deep and swift Jordan and thought the same thing: now, how is it that we’re getting across THAT?! Isn’t that the way Yahusha works? He leads Yisharal to cross the River at the WORST possible time. Come a month earlier, not so bad. Come a month later, not nearly the problem. But to come right at the peak of its flow? It would take a supernatural act of Yahusha to get them across and of course that’s what He did.
So in order to enable Yisharal to cross the Jordan River, Yahusha blocked the southern flow of the Jordan River at a town called Adam located near the city of Zarethan. In the original Hebrew, a very interesting word is used to describe Yahusha stopping the flow of water. It’s the Hebrew word KARET which means to “cut off” and its usually used in the context of cutting someone off from Yahusha due to his or her crimes of disobedience. For example, if one commits murder, that person is cut off via execution and then permanent spiritual separation from Yahusha. Or one can be KARET if they become unclean due to one of the many skin diseases and infections (viruses). The point is that KARET is a spiritual term that often carries with it a physical manifestation and usually involves some kind of death (physical, spiritual, or both). This makes sense because separation from Yahusha IS death. So why do the Scriptures use such a strong term to describe how He blocked the flow of the Jordan River so the waters wouldn’t harm the people? There’s definitely a sense of finality being expressed here. KARET means an absolute cutting off without mercy and there ain’t nothing gentle about it. When Yahusha CUT OFF the flow, within a few minutes time the bottom of the river was exposed and dry, allowing the priests to carry the Ark to the centre of the riverbed and hold the space there while the Hebrews crossed over.
And just to give you a clearer picture, understand that several miles of the riverbed were exposed and dried, because due to the ritual cleansing the people had performed earlier, they were already spread out BY TRIBE over a 3-mile span along the Jordan River bank. The nearest view of the Ark now situated in the middle of the riverbed would have been about a 1km (1/2 a mile) depending on where one was standing. Crossing over would have been quick and easy since the river bed was pretty flat and the distance from one side to the other was only about 50m (165ft) or so.
We are now witnessing a promise almost a thousand years in the making. The children of Yisharal finally, finally enter into their land inheritance that Yahusha first promised to Abraham. “Now it’s time to begin increasing your family so that you become the father of nations. Yes, Kings and Priests shall come from your loins and My Eternal-Blood Covenant of Deliverance will be for all of their generations too, for I Am giving your descendants all of this land of Canaan as an eternal inheritance and I will reign over all of them, blessing and protecting them”. GEN 17 BRS
Is there any event more inspiring than this?! I’m not sure any event ought to stir our hearts more than this one except maybe for Yahusha’s grand entrance into Jerusalem on the donkey, that would shortly lead to His death and our deliverance. Now let’s look at two amazing patterns that can be easily overlooked if not pointed out.
FIRST, recall that Yisharal’s Exodus from Egypt BEGAN with them crossing over the Red Sea and it ENDED with them crossing over the Jordan River. In other words, Yisharal’s ENTRY into the Wilderness and their EXIT out of the Wilderness occurred via a symbolic immersion through water. This is no coincidence!
SECOND, just as the very first Passover held in Egypt marked the official end of Yisharal’s servitude to the Pharaoh, we’ll see that the first Passover celebrated in the promised land of Canaan marked the official end to Yisharal’s wandering in the Wilderness.
CROSSING THE JORDAN (JOSH.4)
And after Yisharal had crossed-over the Jordan River, Yahusha said to Joshua: “Tell one man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a large rock from where the priests are standing, then have the men set up those rocks as a monument at the place where you camp tonight”.
So Joshua chose twelve men, called them together and told them: “Go to the middle of the riverbed where the Ark of the Blood-Covenant Witness is, and pick up a large rock. Then carry it on your shoulder to our camp. There are twelve of you, so there will be one rock for each tribe. And someday your children will ask, “What’s with all these rocks standing here?” And you can tell them how the water stopped flowing when the Ark was being carried across the river. These rocks will always remind our people of what happened here today”.THIS WAS A MOMENTOUS EVENT AND ANOTHER DEFINABLE MOMENT IN THE PROCESS OF YAHUSHA’S PLAN OF DELIVERANCE FOR MANKIND COULD NOW BE CHECKED OFF THE LIST.
So the men followed the instructions that Yahusha had given Joshua, picking up twelve rocks, one for each tribe, and carrying them to the camp, where they put them down. Then Joshua set up a monument next to the place where the priests were standing and this was also made of twelve large rocks, and it’s still there in the middle of the river today. TAKE NOTICE: THESE 12 MEN WERE GIVEN PERMISSION TO GET VERY NEAR TO THE ARK OF COVENANT TO GATHER THE STONES. I’M SURE THEY WERE A BIT SHAKEN AND NOT AT ALL CERTAIN WHETHER THIS WAS AN HONOR OR A SUICIDE MISSION. FOR SURE THE ARK WAS STILL THERE BECAUSE THE RIVERBED WAS STILL DRY. ALSO NOTICE THAT AFTER YISHARAL CROSSED THE RED SEA THEY ERECTED 12 STONES, ONE FOR EACH TRIBE, SO THE TWO CROSSINGS ARE CLOSELY TIED TOGETHER. THE 12 STONES WOULD BE USED THAT VERY NIGHT, AT THE CAMP THEY WOULD SET UP NEAR JERICHO. YOU CAN BE SURE THAT THE KING OF JERICHO KNEW PRECISELY THE WHEREABOUTS OF YISHARAL, AND IT WAS NOT A HAPPY THOUGHT. NOT ONLY THAT I SUSPECT THAT THE TIMING OF YISHARAL’S CROSSING WAS AN UNWELCOME SURPRISE; WITH THE HARVEST SEASON RUSH OF THE WATER WE CAN BE SURE HE FIGURED HE HAD AT LEAST 2 OR 3 MORE WEEKS (EVEN A LITTLE MORE) TO READY HIS DEFENSES (AS HOPELESS AS THE SITUATION WOULD BE). YAHUSHA WANTS THESE STONES TO BE A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR HIS PEOPLE. WHEN THE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE WHO ACTUALLY MADE THE CROSSING ARE ASKED WHAT THE 12 STONES MEAN, THEN THE PARENTS ARE TO RECOUNT THIS AMAZING STORY OF DIVINE DELIVERANCE.
Then the army got ready for battle and crossed the Jordan River. They marched quickly past the Ark and into the desert near Jericho. Forty thousand soldiers from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh led the way (just as Moses had ordered them too since they had the most fierce and ferocious warriors). THE LOYALTY OF THOSE 2 ½ TRIBES IN FIGHTING FOR A LAND THAT THEY’D NEVER PERSONALLY POSSESS (WHICH MIGHT BE WON BY THE SPILLING OF THEIR BLOOD) IS PHENOMENAL. IT WOULD NOT BE UNTIL THE TIME OF DAVID THAT WE’LL AGAIN SEE SUCH AN EXPRESSION OF SELFLESS UNITY.
The priests stayed right where they were until the army had followed the orders that Yahusha had given Moses and Joshua. Then the army watched as the priests carried the Ark the rest of the way across. “Joshua,” Yahusha said, “have the priests come up from the Jordan and bring the Ark with them.”
So Joshua went over to the priests and told them what Yahusha had said. And as soon as the priests carried the Ark past the highest place that the floodwaters of the Jordan had reached, the river flooded its banks again. And that’s how Yahusha showed Yisharal that Joshua was their leader, and for the rest of Joshua’s life, they respected him, just as they had respected Moses.
It was the tenth day of the first month of the year when Yisharal crossed-over the Jordan River. Then they set up camp at Gilgal, which was east of the land controlled by Jericho. The men who had carried the twelve rocks from the Jordan brought them to Joshua, and they made them into a monument. Then Joshua told the people: ”Years from now your children will ask you why these rocks are here, so make sure you tell them that Yahuah our Alahim dried up the Jordan River so that we could walk across. He did the same thing here for us as He did for our people at the Red Sea, because He wants everyone on earth to know just how powerful He truly is. And He wants us to bow down and serve only Him.”
THE TWELVE STONES REMOVED FROM THE JORDAN WERE CARRIED TO THE SITE OF GILGAL, ABOUT 3 OR 4 MILES NORTH OF JERICHO; IT WAS THERE THAT JOSHUA WOULD ORDER THE MONUMENT ERECTED TO THEIR CROSSING OVER THE JORDAN AND ACCEPTANCE OF THEIR INHERITANCE OF CANAAN AS THEIR OWN LAND. GILGAL WOULD BECOME THE FIRST, AND A VERY IMPORTANT, CENTER OF WORSHIP AND CULTURE OF THE HEBREW IN THE PROMISED LAND AND WE’LL READ MUCH ABOUT GILGAL IN LATER BOOKS OF THE SCRIPTURE. THE FACT THAT YISHARAL ENTERED THE PROMISED LAND ON THE 10TH DAY OF THE 1ST MONTH OF THE YEAR IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IN ONLY 4 MORE DAYS THEY WOULD CELEBRATE THE 1ST PASSOVER IN THEIR NEW HOME. THE 10TH DAY OF THE MONTH IS WHEN THE LAMBS FOR THE SLAUGHTER ARE TO BE CHOSEN, AND THEREBY ESTABLISHED AS YAHUSHA’S SET-APART PROPERTY.
So the Wilderness journey, those 40 years of testing and growing and winnowing, is now officially over and Yahusha’s people have learned many valuable lessons along the way; but perhaps none will be more important in the years of battles that lay ahead of them than realising that Yahusha does not help them automatically. Yahusha ONLY helps His people when they are obedient to His Instructions and this is a principle they will test over and over again, at times causing them the severest agony. There were times when the esteem of Yahusha was so visible and present and pulsating with such power within His people, that Yisharal’s (or our) merely showing up struck fear into the hearts of all who oppose Him, but those times have been few and far between. And the reason is quite simple: Yahusha’s people down through the ages have chosen not to be obedient His Words. However verse 1 of Joshua 5 that tells us what happens when Yahusha’s Bride does what is right and follows Him without fear or reservation:
When all the kings of the Amorites on the west side of the Jordan and all the kings of the Canaanites near the sea heard how Yahusha had dried up the Jordan River ahead of the people of Yisharal until they had crossed it, their hearts melted and they lost all hope because of the people of Yisharal.
"DOUBT"
HEBREW UNDERSTANDING:
551 OMNAM - indeed, no doubt, surely.
2963 TARAPH - to pluck off or pull to pieces, to supply with food, catch, without doubt, feed, ravin, rend in pieces, tear (in pieces).
7001 QTAR - a knot (as tied up), a riddle; joint.
8511 TALA - to suspend; figuratively (through hesitation) to be uncertain; by implication (of mental dependence) to habituate:--be bent, hang (in doubt).
TURAH UNDERSTANDING :
"Then Yahusha said to Thomas, "Come over here and stick your finger through my hands and into My side so you can be reasurred and believe Me." JOHN 20 BRS
"Those of us who are strong should bear the failings of the weak ones, and not just please ourselves". MATT 11 BRS
"And Yahusha said to them, "Go and tell John everything you hear and see: blind receive sight and lame walking, leapers are cleansed and deaf hear, dead are raised up and the poor are brought the good news of deliverance." AND BLESSED IS HE WHO DOES NOT STUMBLE IN ME !! ROMANS 15 BRS
TO "DOUBT" IS TO PULL DOWN THE TRUTH, PULL IT APART AND TEAR IT TO PIECES. DOUBT IS LIKE A PAINFUL KNOT OF HESITATION AND UNCERTAINTY BY RELYING ON MENTAL DEPENDANCE (intelligence and knowledge) TO BE BENT AND HANG IN DOUBT. Many brothers and sisters are stuck in this unbelief hanging onto uncertainties of belief towards Scripture and they hang in doubt because they won't go in and experience Yahusha and trust Him. Don't let doubt snare you but run to His arms which are stretched out towards everyone who will not doubt.
